The Earthquake

Dieudonne Lutumba  

ESL- INTGR100 

October 4, 2020 

 

 

                                                          The Earthquake 

A quick power shift forever changed the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Whatever the length of the night, the sun always ends up appearing”, said an old French adage. In 1997, they changed the name from Zaire to Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the country had a political revolution that led the country through many changes in different ways. The country was in a dictatorial system where the president like a lord was above the law and had all the executive's prerogatives and legislatives.  The coup d'état of May 1997 has its particularity and the impact on my relatives were unimaginable. However, the looting and destruction of the different companies didn’t stop our life. Everything went well, despite some difficulties for my relatives that tried to adapt to the new political system. Thus, the economy was affected and led my father into the bad economic situation. Furthermore, my father was one of the people affected by this situation when I was in high school. He experienced an unforeseeable bankruptcy which led my relatives to leave my hometown for Kinshasa. 

The first effect of the coup d'état was the currency devaluation.  My father and most people kept their money at home instead of keeping it in the bank. When the coup d'état happened, the new political system changed the name of the country that led to new currency which caused a big loss for the economic operators like my father. In addition, our company Muntuntu S.P.R.L was the one that offered good sales service for construction materials, and it was the victim of looting and destruction. That was the cause of bankruptcy my father had known. Moreover, the money was Zaire money, and the bank where my father had an account had the same problems as us. That bank didn’t have insurance in order to cover the risk of destruction and the currency devaluation that my father was a victim. On the other hand, the new president Laurent Desire Kabila ordered to printed new money that affected the exchange rate. My father whose share capital of the company was evaluated at least of $ 100,000,00 saw the bankruptcy of Muntuntu S.P.R.L like the fall of the great Titanic in the water. Additionally, my relatives didn’t believe in this revolutionary movement. As a result, we had hard time changing our money in Congolese Franc, the new money printed. Because of our own security, the exchange rate didn’t help my father to have the same value of money. We wondered what our money will become if the coup d'état was overturned.   

In addition, my siblings lost their job because many investors left the country, and most companies closed their activities after the coup d'état. As a result, that situation led my siblings to lose their jobs and occupations. Moreover, the macroeconomic framework was no longer favorable for investors who were mostly foreigners, and the political crisis forced companies to stop their activities, so fear of losing everything investors went back to their country. That terrible situation affected the purchasing power of my relatives, and the scarcity of certain basic necessities led the economic operator to increase the prices on the market. In fact, my father had a problem purchasing enough food for the family which can satisfy the whole family. It was the worst year that my relatives had known in their life. We not only lost the company and money, but also the purchasing power and my siblings became unemployed. Thus, I still remember as if it were yesterday how our great mother have to multiply her efforts to manage to give each child enough food. 

Finally, my father like other economic operators didn’t trust the new political system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The new president tried to gain people’s trust despite that the economic system was no longer favorable, and he organized the meeting with the economic operators national and foreign operators in order to reopen the economic sector. However, my father was embarrassed, so he didn’t have the courage to reopen Muntuntu S.P.R.L. Besides, the president thought getting close to his people would reinsure them and to help them get over their fear and go back to their normal lives. Hence, some companies were getting help from the Congolese government relating to financing, but my father didn’t accept that help which led him to leave our hometown to Kinshasa where we though the life was back to normal. Consequently, in April 1998, we moved to a new city and my father start again the Muntuntu S.P.R.L activities. My siblings found news jobs, and our life had another twist.   

Change cannot be easy to accept, but it is sometimes necessary for the country to develop. People can lose their jobs, money, and lives in order to change the destiny of their nation. When I think about the coup d'état in Zaire, I still see in my memories the first moments of my relatives excruciating suffering and the beginning of accepting the reality of the revolution. The courage led my relatives to rebuild what was destroyed. My father was our hero who helped my siblings to have a fabulous future due to his success with  Muntuntu S.P.R.L company.  

 

 

The Witness of History

 

ESL100 INTG

 

Ya Qiao

 

Nov 5, 2020

 

The Witness of History

 

 

  Whenever I watch the news about my country China in the United States, I always feel proud of how peaceful it is. In addition, I remember those heroes who fought for their country, and protected their country. In 1937, japan started the Mukden Incident, and within a few months, the Japanese Army occupied the whole of the north areas in China. However, seventy-one years ago, China established the new republic of China after a decade of civil war. I’m proud to say, my grandfather joined the historic moment, and he was one of the heroes who fought for the country. My grandfather was born in a small village in Heibei Province, the northern part of China. When he was a kid, he saw the Japanese army destroyed the village he was living in. Since then, he had a determination to defend the village and homeland when he got older. Therefore, in 1944, he joined the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. When the Liberation Army went southwest and liberated Chongqing and Chengdu, he decided to living in Chongqing for the rest of life. Once I asked why he would settle in Chongqing instead of return to his hometown, he told me the landscape of Chongqing attracted him. At that time, I think he made a particularly right decision for our whole family. Because of his choice, it changed our family’s future generation.

 

            In the beginning, his decision influenced the status of women in our family, especially my grandmother. In my grandfather’s hometown, there was an outmoded tradition for women that they didn’t have the status in their family and they have to obeyed for that tradition. In China’s old society, especially in the north part, women needed to have many children for the family as a mission. As a result, in the eyes of all people, a woman was a tool for giving birth. However, in the southern city where my grandmother was born, it was different. Because the local of culture didn’t not just value men, but the gender inequality. In addition, for some families, women had more power than their husbands, and for most of the husbands believe this is an expression of love for their wives. For instance, my grandmother was an obstetrician and gynecologist, and she was a mother of four kids. However, it didn’t affect her passion for her work. In fact, she could maintain her career to be an independent woman at that time. Most importantly, she could be herself not anybody’s tool. Thus, my grandmother didn’t live for outmoded tradition, and she pursued her dream and lived for herself.

 

 In addition, my grandfather led his offspring have to better quality of life. When the war was over, my grandfather got a good job in our hometown. Unlike his childhood, when he had to worry about food or education, his children didn’t have to worry. Furthermore, there was a wish in his heart, and it was that he wanted to continue to study. In contrast, due to the war and the poor condition of the family, he cloud not accomplish his wish. Even though he didn’t get a chance to finish his schoolwork, he was able to provide education for his four children when the standard of living got better. As a result, my father and his sisters were educated at that time, and when they finished their studies, they all got a good job. These days, when they think about the past with my grandfather, they always said that if my grandfather returned to his hometown, they might be different today. They are still enjoying living in this beautiful southern city.

 

Since my grandfather has told me many stories about war times, I have realized how fortunate I’m to live a peaceful age. As an ancient country, China had experienced many wars in history, yet these experiences made this country become stronger. The war brought unbearable pain to those who sacrificed their lives for the country. For this reason, I cherish my normal life more. There was a story that my grandfather told me once, his army need to over a snow mountain. When night fell, the temperature got lower, and many people felt sleepy. My grandfather had noticed the one of the soldiers was already drowsy, and he tried to wake him up when he fell asleep. My grandfather said if he really fell asleep, he might never wake up again. Although this was not the only one of the many stories I have heard, it reminds me of how precious life is that to live in current age.

 

Last month, China celebrated the 71st anniversary of the establishment of China. While I was watching this news online, I thought that maybe my grandfather didn't know that his choice would brought significant change to his family and offspring. Even now, my family and I are still proud of my grandfather for our family and the country’s accomplishment, and he still uses these stories to encourage his family. Furthermore, I will never forget those heroes who sacrificed for the county, and they are the real witness of history. I hope one day like my grandfather did to me, and I will let my offspring know their cultural roots and tell those stories to them.

 

 

                                                   My grandfather.

 

A Long-term Customer

 

         In China, Hong Kong is a famous city that developed faster than the Mainland. Hong Kong has been a place that many people wanted to go to because of prosperity. Many people who live in Hong Kong work hard, and some people thought they could earn more money in Hong Kong than in the Mainland. The British controlled Hong Kong for about one hundred and fifty-two years, but Hong Kong went back to China in 1997. In the same year, Hong Kong faced the financial crisis. After a few years, the Hong Kong government wanted to solve the problem with real estate, so it limited real estate development and new construction.  Many people from Guangdong went to apply to be Hong Kong laborers to work construction, and my father was one of them. My father’s decision to be a Hong Kong laborer had a profound effect on my family.

            My father's decision put a lot of pressure on my mother which made her become strong. After my father left, she seemed like a super woman. Because my mother took care of my brother and me by herself, she worried that we would grow up as in a single-parent family. Sometimes she was a gentle mother, and she would give us some suggestions. Sometimes she was a strict father, and she would point out our mistakes directly. Even though my father sent some money back, my mother still needed to find a job to support our family. She never took days off except when my brother or I was sick. Even if she was sick, she still went to work. I remember one day she drove her motorcycle back home after work on a rainy day and she fell on the way home. She only checked her motorbike and made sure it could be driven. After she arrived at home, she did not say anything. She asked me to help her with Chinese oil. After I saw the bruise on her body, I felt sorry for her. I was shocked that she went to work the next day. She was a powerful woman, but she also needed someone to take care of her and to help her to reduce her family pressure.

            In addition, my father’s decision helped me develop some skills after he left. I tried to share my mother’s burden. Although I could not alleviate her economic pressure, I could help her to reduce our family chores. Because my mother needed to work, I had to cook. She only had an hour for lunch. Even though she wanted to cook by herself, she did not have enough time. She considered maybe I was a prodigy because she only showed me how to cook once. When I started cooking, my neighbors wanted to share their cooking experience with me when I asked them about cooking. I washed the clothes by hands because we did not have a washing machine. I learned to use the right part of my hand to wash clothes. When I started to wash the clothes, I felt my hands were not mine. They got red and swollen. I could not imagine washing the clothes outside in Winter. However, I felt happy that I did something for my family.

           Finally, my father’s decision made my brother feel disappointed. My father only appeared in my brother’s childhood for a short time. He usually stayed for one or two days at home he came to visit. When the teacher let them write an essay about my father in class, my brother had no idea what to say. My brother did not have enough time to know about our father. My brother thought of our house as a hotel, and our father was a long-term customer. Even though my brother did not require our father to do anything, he still wanted him to be close. When the other kids played with their father, my brother’s eyes showed that he was envious. One day I heard that he wanted to play basketball with our father. He wanted to have family time. My brother’s reverie of the family was the mother is cooking in the kitchen, and the father is staying with kids watching TV or playing games. Over the many years that my father was at home, my brother did not have a chance to establish a relationship with our father.

 I do not consider that my father’s decision was right, but I cannot say he was wrong. My father wanted to improve our family’s standard of living, but he completely missed my brother’s childhood. My brother felt nonchalant about building a relationship with our father. He did not want to chat with our father even though they had WeChat. They did not say anything when they sat together. For me, it was my precious memory. I built a great relationship with my mother. In the beginning, I just wanted to share responsibility with my mother. We faced many things and overcame them together after my father left. We supported each other in a hard time. My mother was not only my mother but also was a good friend. My mother felt tired because she needed to handle everything. However, my mother looks like another person. She feels confident about her job, and she manages family issues quickly. Many parents consider that they need to provide good conditions for their children, but the best gift for children is staying with them. If there was another chance, I would hope that he would change his decision.